Free Open Roads by Zach Bohannon Page A

scattered all over the place.”
    Will looked to the side table and noticed an open condom wrapper on the ground. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Yeah, you’ve got a point.”
    Holly came over to him and wrapped her arms around him, nestling her head into his chest. After a few moments, she pulled away and looked up into his eyes.
    “I did a lot of thinking while I was in the shower,” she said.
    There was an awkward silence, and finally Will said, “And?”
    “I mean,” she said, stumbling her words. “Do we really want to leave?”
    Will furrowed his brow.
    “Look at this place, Will. We’ve got everything we need up here. There’s shelter, water, endless firewood. And Charlie said they haven’t seen any Empties up here since after The Fall. It’s almost like a sort of utopia. It’s even better than the hospital.”
    Will nodded, not able to help himself but agree, but there was still the one big, obvious issue.
    “Okay, but what about Gabriel?” Will asked.
    “Did you see how happy Dylan was? You think he didn’t notice that?”
    “Doesn’t matter,” Will said, shaking his head. “All that guy can think about is his wife and daughter. That’s not to say he doesn’t want Dylan to be happy, because he sure as hell cares for him. But he’s not gonna stop until he gets home.”
    Holly looked toward the window, frustration in her face, then looked back up to Will. “You think they’re alive?”
    “Who?”
    “His wife and daughter,” Holly clarified.
    Will allowed that question to just hang in the air. He let it sit long enough that, by the time he was ready to say something, a knock came at the front door. He put his hand on Holly’s shoulder.
    “You mind? It’s probably just Gabriel or Jessica. I’ll be there in just a sec.”
    “No problem.” Holly left the room.
    Will looked down at the suitcase on the bed and pulled out a navy blue long-sleeve tee. He opened it and sized it up in front of him. From the front of the cabin, he heard Charlie greeting Holly.
    As Will walked over to the bathroom, he took off his shirt. He looked in the mirror and observed the various scratches on his body, not even sure at this point which had originated with which incident. Turning on the faucet, he leaned over and splashed water onto his face, rubbing away at the grime and dirt. When he picked his head back up, Charlie’s face appeared in the mirror, standing in the room behind him. Will jumped.
    “You scared the shit out of me.”
    Still wet from the pouring rain, Charlie smiled and chuckled. “Sorry, man.”
    Will grabbed a towel that felt dry and unused, and turned around while drying his face. When he pulled the towel away, Will saw Charlie looking upon him with wide eyes. He was staring at the scratches and bruises on Will’s chest before shifting his gaze to the swollen wounds on Will’s arm.
    “Holy shit,” Charlie mumbled.
    Will threw the shirt over his head and pulled it down, hiding all the marks. He glared at Charlie as he moved past him and out of the room.
    “What’s up?” Will asked, moving out to the living room. “Why’d you come over?”
    “Just, uh, just checking in,” Charlie said. “I brought you guys over some bread, peanut butter, and some mixed nuts.”
    “Thanks,” Will said, sitting down at the dining room table. Holly and Mary Beth sat on the floor in front of the coffee table in the middle of the living room.
    “I found a deck of Uno cards,” Mary Beth said.
    “Awesome,” Will said, smiling.
    “We’ve got some board games over in Scott’s cabin,” Charlie said. “He and Reece have been playing Monopoly and Clue a lot. I’m sure they’ll let you play with them if you guys decide to stay long enough.”
    Will naturally turned to Holly, who was staring back at him. She smiled briefly, then looked back to the game, and Will knew they’d be finishing their conversation about the possibility of staying later on.
    “Rain doesn’t look like it’s slowing